Teachers Plan Nationwide Gun Violence Walkout After Florida School Shooting

Teachers are planning to stage nationwide walkouts in response to Wednesday's shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Nikolas Cruz, 19, was arrested as the suspected killer of 17 people — both students and faculty — at his former high school, police said. Following the violent attack, many government officials uttered the usual rhetoric of offering thoughts and prayers instead of a tangible lawmaker solution for change.

"Our entire nation, with one heavy heart, is praying for the victims and their families," President Donald Trump said in a statement. "To every parent, teacher, and child who is hurting so badly, we are here for you — whatever you need, whatever we can do, to ease your pain. We are all joined together as one American family, and your suffering is our burden also. No child, no teacher, should ever be in danger in an American school."

"In these moments of heartache and darkness, we hold on to God's word in scripture: 'I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you,'" Trump added.

Many pointed out that Trump's statement didn't make mention of guns, however. Therefore, several are seeking to change this pattern of dismissing guns as a driving force in shooting-related violence by partaking in an act of protest.

Women's March Sacramento Youth Program and Women's March Youth EMPOWER are organizing a National School Walk-Out to protest "Congress' inaction" against gun violence, according to the event's Facebook page. Scheduled for March 14, the organization is calling for teachers, students, school administrators and parents to participate. Others interested in providing support are welcomed attend.

"We need action," the organization wrote on Facebook, "Students and allies are organizing the national school walkout to demand Congress pass legislation to keep us safe from gun violence at our schools, on our streets and in our homes and places of worship."

"Students and staff have the right to teach and learn in an environment free from the worry of being gunned down in their classrooms or on their way home from school. Parents have the right to send their kids to school in the mornings and see them home alive at the end of the day," the event's description continued.

School teachers and employees in West Virginia are expected to stage a walkout in 55 of its counties Thursday and Friday, which was confirmed Saturday by union leaders, according to the Charleston Gazette-Mail. Conversations about a statewide walkout in West Virginia, however, have been discussed for weeks ahead of Wednesday's incident in Parkland.

Decatur, Georgia, parent Clare Schexnyder is also planning to organzine a walkout, saying: "I'm not powerless. I can do something. I can create change," according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Schexnyder took to Facebook Thursday to call for fellow parents and community members to participate in the event, which is expected to occur March 2.